Editorial: Pension decision correct

Memo to state employees: Welcome to the real world of planning for retirement.

We agree with the state Supreme Court that state employees must contribute 3 percent of their salary to fund their retirement. It's a practice many of us in the private sector have been doing for decades in preparation for the golden years. (We just hope there will be enough gold for those years.)

The sharply divided, seven-member court ruled 4-3 to uphold the state's plan. The case was from a lawsuit challenging the forced contribution.

It was a victory for Gov. Rick Scott, who made the pension overhaul a centerpiece of his first year in office. Like with much of his agenda, Scott pushed the law saying it would lower the cost of living for families and businesses in the state who foot the bill for public retirees. As the Associated Press pointed out last week, the governor's argument was simple: It is unfair that his state's public employees didn't chip in to the state's retirement system.

While we agree that public employees should contribute, we hope they understand that their pensions are crippling local and state governments. We looked no further than the city of Pensacola to see that the generous pensions could not be funded without affecting substantially other services. A change in that fund saved millions in future costs. One estimate said mandating the contributions avoided a shortfall this year of nearly $2 billion in the state budget as well as local budgets.

As expected, state workers are upset they will have to contribute like many of the rest of us. The state teachers union president vowed that lawmakers will be targeted next year. It's discouraging to see they fail to understand the economics of pensions and how they grow more expensive each year.

As this case played out, it was puzzling - and frankly disappointing - to see governments offset the contribution by giving 3 percent raises to employees. Those in jobs outside government contribute to their pension funds without a corresponding raise from the bosses. It showed the disconnect many inside government have with the rest of us. After all, the amount they contribute to retirement is still their money. They will just be getting to spend it a little later.

We appreciate Gov. Rick Scott pushing this measure to take some of the financial burden off taxpayers. It's one case where his business acumen paid off.